I am a former Flame Chasers

The plan went much more smoothly than Ryan had imagined. Aside from turning New York into a wasteland and inadvertently injuring many people, the goal had been achieved.

They say a short pain is worse than a long one, and much like the unique inauguration ceremony, Ryan's brief speech echoed that sentiment. The Fire Moth had finally drawn the line between enemies and comrades.

No longer would anyone be sent on dangerous reconnaissance missions in hostile areas. No city would be abandoned as expendable. Soldiers were no fools; they had long realized that those big names, talking about justice, were all driven by selfish motives.

They had been using the Fire Moth for their "territory" and conducting human experiments to uncover secrets that were never meant to be known. While they were indeed fighting the Collapse, their true focus was power and profit.

Fortunately, they "showed mercy" and handed all the power to the warriors led by Ryan.

Ryan, of course, had a spotless record. He had even blamed the Believers for New York's destruction. If they hadn't interfered, this battle wouldn't have happened, and they might have repelled the Herrscher assault.

Of course, Coleman, Vinal, and the Twins all had their suspicions, but none of them spoke out. For most fusion warriors, those who were willing to take risks were seen as the true eagles. They were tired of endless internal reviews.

So, the blame was placed on the traitors. After all, these were the people they would fight to the death in the future, so it didn't matter how they were stigmatized.

The ruins were still being cleared, but everyone had realized that their choice had been the right one in the past few days. Orders were becoming more efficient and clearer. Dr. Mei was like an artificial intelligence, cleaning up the mess at an unimaginable speed.

Rebuilding cities, adjusting global branches, integrating production capacity, evacuating bases in dangerous situations—it was all happening faster than anyone had anticipated. The most terrifying part was how well-planned the entire operation was, as if Mei had prepared for this moment long ago.

Even the veteran members of the Fire Moth were confused. There had been no opposition to the major adjustments. Those strongholds, which were once backed by powerful people, and those integrated factories, were considered sacred private property.

In the past, it would have taken ages to argue, and countless rounds of exchanging interests to make any progress. But this time, the operation was successfully executed: people and materials were moved out, and even the lottery was rejected.

Perhaps, the higher-ups had suddenly grown a conscience. After all, they were detained in the underground city with no way for their confidants to come to their rescue.

"Only Madagass will remain as a stronghold in Africa. The rest of the strongholds will be evacuated to South Asia, and the troops will be concentrated in the Middle East. South America will also be completely withdrawn. The redistributed branches will focus on strengthening the Isthmus region and Antarctica. This is the new organizational structure, and here is a list of abolished branches."

In her slightly luxurious office, Mei calmly pointed to the electronic map, her tone free and easy. She had been busy handling the aftermath, and while she was tired, she was also excited.

She was finally becoming the chess player, able to control the world according to her own plans. The energy from the fusion warriors allowed her, a workaholic, to work without sleep.

I didn't see this man wrong.

Mei glanced at Ryan. She didn't believe in fate, but looking back at the past few years—when Ryan first transferred to Qianyu High School—she would have never imagined that he would end up in this position.

It was a miracle.

"Mr. General Manager, are you listening to me?" Mei asked.

Ryan yawned quietly, covering his mouth. After recovering from several days of sleep, he was still feeling a bit dizzy.

"I'm listening, I'm listening. You're doing a great job, I really didn't choose the wrong person."

"But why do I feel like you've dumped all the troubles onto me?"

"Strive for the future of civilization. Work hard for humanity's progress. How could that be a trouble?"

"Stop with the big principles. Tell me, what exactly am I doing well?"

Mei wasn't buying it. Ryan sat up a little straighter, a bit annoyed, realizing that he just couldn't be as charismatic as Carius. He relied on this small group to control Fire Moth, but he had no intention of changing their interpersonal dynamics.

He couldn't be like Carius, pretending to hold absolute power. Power would make people feel satisfied but stagnant. Ryan wasn't about that, nor did he want to create a purge to release military power with a drink in hand. That kind of thing was crazy.

"Let me see," Ryan said, growing a bit more focused. With his intelligence, a single glance was enough.

"Give up areas that are bound to fall, concentrate the troops to form a unified fist, and retain the bridgehead for a counterattack. South America is a loss, but if we maintain one in the north and one in the south, they'll act like pincers ready for a counterattack at any time."

In the past, Fire Moth had maintained a long, snake-like formation. To put it kindly, they could support each other. But in reality, it was because the members didn't want to lose their territory. Sometimes, they'd keep the enemy to themselves, like how Takeuchi had deliberately released the Honkai Beast into Tokyo.

That strategy would have led to defeat one by one, with no time for support.

"You're still clear-headed," Mei commented, pointing to Africa and South America. "These two continents are essentially lost. There's no point in keeping some separated strongholds. They can serve as bases for the enemy."

"You want to gather the Honkai?"

"It's better than scattering everywhere. You're eager to take charge of the Fire Moth, but don't you want to fight a fair battle?"

"Yes, playing cat and mouse always leads to a loss in something while trying to handle another." Ryan nodded. This was his line of thinking. The Honkai was completely unpredictable, able to appear anywhere. There was no front or back. But since the third Herrscher's appearance, the world had changed. Even the Herrscher was easy to eliminate once their tracks were detected. The combat power of both sides seemed to have reached a balance. The only question was who could concentrate their forces and create an advantage.

For example, the Seventh Herrscher. If it weren't for Fire Moth's delay, Ryan could have brought ten upper fusion warriors to trap her. She wouldn't have escaped easily.

"I took advantage of targeting the Honkai. The things above may not have intelligence, but they can make the right choice by instinct. They don't descend on Herrscher to die," Ryan added.

"That's why the fifth Herrscher descended suddenly and disappeared just as quickly, and the sixth Herrscher gave almost no warning. But the safest bet is to descend under the cover of others of the same kind. The Fire Moth's overall combat power has exceeded theirs. The Herrscher can't descend multiple times in quick succession."

Mei also had her suspicions, backed by data. She pressed a button on the console, and a dense web of red light spots appeared on the world map. Africa and South America showed a much higher density.

"According to Skynet's observations, the frequency of descent in these two continents has indeed increased."

"This is inevitable. In areas with heavy defenses, Judgment-level Honkai beasts are bound to fall. Do you remember the previous paper?"

"The strength of the Herrscher is proportional to the Honkai energy environment, just like how fruit ripens and falls when it reaches its peak," Mei replied coldly, almost understanding what Ryan meant.

"That's exactly what I want. I've given them enough assets. From an absolutely rational perspective, a direct confrontation would have a higher destruction rate."

Ryan sighed. This was not ideal. The difficulty would increase significantly, but it would prevent the Herrscher from mindlessly raiding, destroying cities one by one. That would be a slow death for everyone.

If the Herrscher played guerrilla warfare across the world, no one could stop them. But they were more likely to fall if they did this.

"Assets?"

Mei finally understood why Ryan hadn't desperately hunted down the traitors. During her clean-up work, many branches had disobeyed orders.

Carius had prepared a retreat in advance, but more importantly, the Herrscher had shown a terrifying rationality. They didn't kill indiscriminately. It was precisely because they were at a disadvantage in combat power that they needed the people from these branches.

And as for what to do next? The Herrscher didn't have the emotion of "shame."

"Ryan, you're creating a profit group."

"Yes. If you tie a single monster like the Herrscher to interests, they'll make a choice. They won't easily abandon their pawns as long as the remaining ones are useful, and those who rushed in won't be easy to deal with. Only we become pure."

Mei narrowed her eyes. She thought the man before her was terrifying. He had taken the "targeted" aspect of the Honkai and turned the destruction machine, which had no emotions and little intelligence, into something almost human.

Once something is human, it can make a choice and hesitate. And that's what makes it easier to deal with.

The Fire Moths were united, but the Honkai was now divided into two factions of interests. Out of rationality, the Herrscher had to accept the sugar-coated bullet. The world had become too complex.

This was an open conspiracy. The more rational the creature, the more likely it was to fall into the trap.

"I think I see the dawn of victory."

"It's still a long way off. Strategy only makes the losses less severe and simplifies the war. The key is still strength. At least let the Collapse feel there's an advantage so we don't overturn the table."

Ryan smiled. Everything he had done was to prevent a sudden spike in difficulty and to leave time for development. Otherwise, the next to come would be the Herrscher of Constraint.

The more time passed, the higher his winning chance. He feared that the Honkai would suddenly overturn the table, so he carefully observed the characteristics it liked to target.

"Honkai isn't a god. It has no self-awareness or emotions. Destruction is just a means, not the end. It adjusts according to the situation," Ryan stood up and paced in the center of the office.

"Mei, have you noticed? Their acceptance by the Herrscher may not just be about combat effectiveness."

"I've suspected that too. Do you think this involves the Honkai goal?" Mei stroked her chin, having long felt that pure destruction made no sense.

"Yes, perhaps the fundamental purpose of the Honkai isn't to destroy civilization. Even if it's restricted by civilization's development, it won't last long enough to destroy humanity."

"But it might be a game of God?"

"It's possible, but it doesn't matter. No matter what the purpose is, whether it's good or evil, we've come this far."

The automatic door opened. Ryan stood at the door, turned around, and clenched his fists.

"We can only choose to surpass him!"

Mei stood still, her thoughts racing. She wanted Ryan to make the topic clear. Understanding the essence of the Honkai had always been her main research goal.

After a moment, she glanced at the thick stack of documents on the table.

This bastard, he's taken the opportunity to be lazy again!